Onsdag is almost here in Denmark! That’s Wednesday peeps. In Danish. There is still time to inspire a little mid-week wanderlust. Where to today Erin? I’m so glad you asked. Ready, steady, go! Today I’m taking you to Liverpool baby – yeah! We’re going Merseyside people.

We recently spent an extended weekend in the UK, motivated by seeing good friends from the States whose band was invited to play at the International Pop Overthrow live from the infamous Cavern Club in Liverpool, England. Check them out – RAF Mod Band – all original fun tunes to shake your tail feather to.

RAF Mod Band at the Cavern Club

We are the Mods!

RAF Mod Band

But this weekend was not just a go-go booted dance fest in the hallowed brick bowels of Mathew Street. We had the whole fam-damily along for the ride. Obviously not taking them to any 12:15 am sets. So what do you do with your family in Liverpool? To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I did a little research and found an apartment down near the historic waterfront district. We stayed at the Block Liverpool, serviced apartments with a kitchenette and plenty of space for our family of five – functional and clean, with great views of the city, but definitely not fancy. Still mobility impaired, but rocking my street-legal crutches, the location was close enough for me to easily explore the nearby Albert Dock area which had plenty to entertain our pre-teen and teenagery kids. Please note that this is a non-Beatles-centric list of suggested sites and activities. If you are here for the Beatles tour of Liverpool, you most likely already know what you want to see and if you don’t yet, you will probably want to get advice elsewhere. We found that this town had lots more to offer than Yellow Submarines and Penny Lanes for our kids who only know Sir Paul as the “old guy” from the Four Five Seconds song with Rihanna and Kanye. (Sorry to any huge Beatles fans out there – no offense intended.) On that note – here is my list of fun things to do with your family in LIVERPOOL:

1. Albert Dock Area 

Chock full of museums, ice cream trucks, a place for a pint on the water and good chippy with mushy peas. Don’t know what mushy peas are? Just try it. Once. I actually liked it! I can highly recommend Docklands Fish and Chips down from the Tate Liverpool for their excellent and huge portions of chippy, enough to share. There are paddle boats for hire (to rent) to puddle around on a nice day. A ferris wheel and tuk tuk tours will also tempt all ages. (Note: The Beatles Story Museum is down here too, for your those interested – but we did not visit, so no review.)

Docklands Chippy

No coffee at Docklands – Rubens cafe next door brought it over to us!

Good chippy and mushy peas

2. Merseyside Maritime Museum – Albert Dock

Maritime industry made Liverpool. And you can learn all about it at the free Mersyside Maritime Museum. You can’t miss it – there is a GIANT anchor out front. You may have seen Leo and Kate on the front of the Titanic – but did you know what port she called home?  Yep, Liverpool. In reality, the Titanic didn’t actually depart from Liverpool on that famous first and last voyage because the Liverpudlian managing company, White Star Line, had diverted the start port to Southampton, hoping to avoid competition from the famous Cunard Line vessel Lusitania, who also sailed from Liverpool. There are excellent exhibits here regarding the famous sinkings of both vessels. My older kids enjoyed the “Seized: The Border and Customs Uncovered” exhibit, while my younger daughter enjoyed the free kids focus worksheets hunting and finding and answering riddles around the museum.

3. Tate Museum Liverpool – Albert Dock

The Tate Liverpool (an outpost of the larger and more famous Tate Modern in London) is a manageable size for art enthusiasts and the not so enthusiastic. They have wonderful packets for children to borrow helping their engagement in the art. The Tate is also free, save for any special exhibitions on display. Many of art history’s famous names have examples here to show your kids. My daughter and I loved the Jackson Pollock – Summertime: Number 9A, 1948. An early example of his Abstract Expressionism – we sat and looked and discussed for longer than the boys could tolerate.

4. Stadium Tours Liverpool F.C. or Everton F.C.

Two major players in the English Premier League have home fields (er, sorry pitches) here in Liverpool – opposite sides of a large park actually. You can take stadium tours of both. We were hoping to get tickets to a match, but as it was local boy and captain Steven Gerrard’s last game with Liverpool F.C. (he started with the team in 1998) it would have taken a miracle to get those seats. And Everton was playing away, so no Americans rooting for keeper Tim Howard either. At least not these Americans. Another time. But we did visit the L.F.C. store at Liverpool One shopping center and couldn’t help but admire their team motto. “You’ll never walk alone.” I can see why Sporty Spice likes them!

5. Liverpool One Shopping Center –

Don’t think of Liverpool as a shopping destination? Think again. Outdoor mall with tons of choices for all tastes and price ranges. Found the perfect mod dress for the late set and kids found more of their new obsession “Top Trumps” card game – they were psyched to find the “Horrible Histories” version – hard to find apparently. We also spent a few rainy hours watching the Avengers on the big screen. When I said that my crutches were street legal, it still doesn’t mean that all that museum going wasn’t exhausting. Maybe the late night go-go dancing had an effect too! Some other ideas that we wanted to do but just didn’t have time: Ride the Mersey ferry for a cruise up and down the river. Take a tuk-tuk tour of the town – room for 5! Go inside the beautiful Liverpool Cathedral on the hill – it is HUGE. Other favorites or suggestions for families in Liverpool? Leave them in the comments! Cheers from Denmark!

A little back-story from my first post on Onsdags, Wednesdays, also known as Oden’s day: “For me Wednesday is a longing – we still have things to do on Wednesday. We have responsibilities. We don’t get a break yet. So from now on, Wednesday is furthermore dedicated to wanderlust. Let’s look outside, maybe even gain a little knowledge, plan travel, cement dreams. Thanks Oden – we could use the inspiration. “